1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a light emitting element and, in particular, to a light emitting element having a high light output.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a light emitting element is known including a silicon support substrate having an anode electrode on one surface thereof, a metallic light reflecting layer formed on another surface of the silicon support substrate, a light transmission membrane formed on the metallic light reflecting layer and forming an ohmic contact with the metallic light reflecting layer, a semiconductor laminated structure formed on the light transmission membrane and having an active layer sandwiched between a p-type semiconductor layer and a n-type semiconductor layer which form an ohmic contact with the light transmission membrane, and a cathode electrode formed on the semiconductor laminated structure. The related art to the invention is, e.g., JP-A-2005-175462.
The light emitting element disclosed in JP-A-2005-175462 has a structure that a light transmission membrane having electrical conductivity is disposed between a semiconductor laminated structure and a metallic light reflecting layer so as to form an ohmic contact with both of the semiconductor laminated structure and the metallic light reflecting layer and prevent an alloying between the semiconductor laminated structure and the metallic light reflecting layer, so that a metallic light reflecting layer having an excellent in light reflecting property can be realized and a light emitting element having an enhanced light emission efficiency can be provided.
However, the light emitting element disclosed in JP-A-2005-175462 has a limit to an enhancement of light output thereof, since the same amount of current is supplied to an active layer located directly below a cathode electrode as the amount of current supplied to a part of the active layer excluding a region located directly below the cathode electrode, and consequently, a light emitted from the active layer located directly below the cathode electrode is absorbed into the cathode electrode.